T.J. Lang is working Sundays as a professional football player. The 6-foot-4, 318-pound six-year pro does not take his job lightly.

For the past four years, Lang, a 2005 Brother Rice graduate who went on to star at Eastern Michigan University, has been a mainstay as an offensive linemen for the Green Bay Packers.

Lang's work ethic, versatility and ability to adapt have proven vital at every level of play. It's been no different since turning pro, when he was selected by the Packers in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL draft.

In his first two years with the Packers, he learned as a backup to veteran lineman Chad Clifton. As a first-year player, Lang started at both tackle spots and became the first Packers rookie to start consecutive games at left tackle since Clifton did in 2000. He was second on the depth chart on the 2010 Packers squad which went on to win Super Bowl XLV over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The following year, Lang earned a starting job on the offensive line, where he has been stationed ever since.

Lang has started 49 games since 2011, playing four different positions – 27 at left guard, 18 at right guard, five at right tackle and two at left tackle. He's also handled center duties when called upon.

Intends to stay

Lang intends to stay there as long as possible.

"You don't ever feel comfortable up here," Lang said following the Week 3 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. "There's always guys breathing down your neck, ready to take your spot.

"I never go into a season thinking that I have a spot locked down. I try to get better and better. I've been a starter for four years now. I think once you start getting complacent, you'll see your production start to drop off.

"So as a player, you have to understand that everybody's replaceable," he added. "You always have to strive to get better."

Lang was a lineman for two years at Brother Rice after transferring to the high-profile Bloomfield Hills-based Catholic school from White Lake Lakeland heading into his junior season.

In his junior year, he helped lead the Warriors to the 2003 Division 2 state championship game, where they lost to Rochester Adams. As a senior, he was named Rice's Lombardi Award Winner as the Most Outstanding Lineman and was a Michigan nominee for the Gatorade Player of the Year. He finished with 59 tackles, 34 assists, 8.5 sacks and one fumble recovery in his final year of high school football.

But even though he never won a state title at Rice, the value of playing for legendary head coach Al Fracassa was unbeatable.

"Rice was a great experience for me," Lang said. "I got to play for two years under coach Fracassa. With coach Fracassa and Brother Rice, football wasn't the most important thing you were doing.

"It was all about becoming a better person, becoming a man, becoming a great teammate, learning from experience and learning how to battle adversity. Whenever we lost a game and he came in, we never got cussed out and yelled at, it was all about learning how to get better.

"For me, it was just a great opportunity to be around a man like that," he added. "His resume speaks for itself. The way he consistently got the best out of his players. Everybody loved playing for him."

A 'Super' experience

Lang went on to play college football at Eastern Michigan University. He began his college career as a defensive lineman, but converted to offense as a sophomore and started 36 straight games as a tackle.

The transition went smooth as he gained first team all-MAC honors and earned EMU's Harold E. Sponberg Award given to the team's top down lineman scholar-athlete as a senior in 2008. Lang was named the team's offensive Player of the Week three times that season.

While he never won any state championships at Brother Rice or MAC championships at Eastern Michigan University, Lang does own a Super Bowl ring with one of the NFL's most storied franchises. He realizes how fortunate he is to not just be a member of the Packers, but to be able to play the game he's always loved at the highest level.

"You think about it once in a while," Lang said. "When things get frustrating and start going in the opposite way that you hoped, if you're having a rough day, rough game or rough practice, there are times you still have to sit back and realize how lucky and blessed you are to be playing in the National Football League.

"That's something that you can never lose sight of. I know it's hard to think about sometimes, but there does come a time when you have to realize how blessed you are to be in this position. I think about that quite often and you never want to take that for granted.

"It's a job and an opportunity I have," he added. "I mean, it's something that a whole lot of good people do not get to experience, let alone for six, seven years like I have."